Credit: The Associated Press

This Jan. 8, 2014 file photo shows singer Chris Brown, right, arriving at the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington. District of Columbia police officials are investigating whether a police officer made contradictory statements in the assault case against Brown. The department’s internal affairs investigation stems from a disputed conversation between the officer and an unidentified acquaintance of Brown. The discrepancies in the exchange, which could become important as the criminal prosecution moves forward, are summarized in police documents that lay out the basis for charging Brown and his bodyguard with punching a man outside a Washington hotel in October.

WASHINGTON — District of Columbia police have opened an internal affairs investigation into statements made by a police officer who responded to reports that singer Chris Brown had punched a man outside a Washington hotel.